Systems and methods for search and categorization

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure include techniques for dynamically generating a results list based on real-time data gathered from a television receiver, user interaction, and other resources. The systems and methods may include receiving, via the one or more tuners, from the television service provider distribution network, a set of television data, wherein the television data is associated with programming of multiple television channels, receiving a set of user data, wherein the user data includes data associated with a user of the television receiver, receiving an input from the user, wherein the input indicates a preference for a search, determining a list of input results based on the set of television data, the set of user data, and the input, and transmitting the list of television input results, wherein when the list of television input results is received, the list of television input results is displayable on the display device.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.62/208,446, filed Aug. 21, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporatedby reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY

The present disclosure relates to a computer technology for generatingand transmitting results lists during a search of a television receiverfor data using a television search device. Specifically, varioustechniques and systems are provided for dynamically generating a resultslist based on real-time data gathered from a television receiver, userinteraction, and other resources.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to a computer technology for generatingand transmitting results lists during a search of a television receiverfor data using a television search device. Specifically, varioustechniques and systems are provided for dynamically generating a resultslist based on real-time data gathered from a television receiver, userinteraction, and other resources. In an embodiment, a televisionreceiver for generating input results is disclosed. The televisionreceiver comprises one or more tuners configured to receive televisionprogramming via a television service provider distribution network, atelevision interface configured to output the television programming toa display device, one or more processors, and a memory communicativelycoupled with and readable by the one or more processors and havingstored therein processor-readable instructions. The instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processorsto receive, via the one or more tuners, from the television serviceprovider distribution network, a set of television data, wherein thetelevision data is associated with programming of multiple televisionchannels, receive a set of user data, wherein the user data includesdata associated with a user of the television receiver, receive an inputfrom the user, wherein the input indicates a preference for a search,determine a list of input results based on the set of television data,the set of user data, and the input, and transmit the list of televisioninput results, wherein when the list of television input results isreceived, the list of television input results is displayable on thedisplay device.

In another embodiment, a computer-implemented method, comprisesreceiving, via the one or more tuners, from the television serviceprovider distribution network, a set of television data, wherein thetelevision data is associated with programming of multiple televisionchannels, receiving a set of user data, wherein the user data includesdata associated with a user of the television receiver, receiving aninput from the user, wherein the input indicates a preference for asearch, determining a list of input results based on the set oftelevision data, the set of user data, and the input, and transmittingthe list of television input results, wherein when the list oftelevision input results is received, the list of television inputresults is displayable on the display device.

In another embodiment, a computer-program product tangibly embodied in anon-transitory machine-readable storage medium. The non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium may include instructions configured tocause a data processing apparatus to receive, via the one or moretuners, from the television service provider distribution network, a setof television data, wherein the television data is associated withprogramming of multiple television channels, receive a set of user data,wherein the user data includes data associated with a user of thetelevision receiver, receive an input from the user, wherein the inputindicates a preference for a search, determine a list of input resultsbased on the set of television data, the set of user data, and theinput, and transmit the list of television input results, wherein whenthe list of television input results is received, the list of televisioninput results is displayable on the display device.

In an aspect, of any of the above embodiments, the set of televisiondata includes predetermined television programming information relatedto the multiple television channels. In another aspect, the set oftelevision data includes data related to an environment of thetelevision receiver. In another aspect, the set of user data includesdata related to preferences of a user of the television receiver. Inanother aspect, the preferences of the user are collected over a periodof time and are based on the user's interactions with the televisionreceiver. In another aspect, the list of input results includes aranking of results, wherein the ranking of the results is determinedbased on the set of television data, the set of user data, and theinput. In another aspect, the list of input results includes one or moreresults groupings, wherein the results groupings each include a set ofresults associated with the grouping.

This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features ofthe claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolationto determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject mattershould be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entirespecification of this patent, any or all drawings, and each claim.

The foregoing, together with other features and embodiments, will becomemore apparent upon referring to the following specification, claims, andaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of variousembodiments may be realized by reference to the following figures. Inthe appended figures, similar components or features may have the samereference label. Further, various components of the same type may bedistinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a satellite television distributionsystem.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a television receiver that isconfigured to manage storage space.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example television display configuration, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment showing a receiver interface with a TVsearch mechanism for entry of data and a remote control, according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment showing a receiver interface with a TVsearch interface for entry of data and a search results interface,according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates four different search results interfaces, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates multiple search results interfaces that show groupingof search results, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates a search results interface and an informationinterface, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment of a method for dynamically generatinga results list based on user, the user's input, and collected televisionreceiver data, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of a computer system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to systems, methods, and products forreceiving, gathering, categorizing, and displaying data on a graphicaluser interface, such as a receiver interface of a television receiver.Furthermore, the present disclosure is also directed to systems,methods, and products for interacting with and/or controlling such agraphical user interface to search for and find certain subsets of thedata so that the subsets of the data are displayed on the graphical userinterface. The disclosed systems, methods, and products enable moreefficient navigation of the data on the graphical user interface, suchas by interpreting input commands in a more efficient manner, requiringfewer numbers of input steps to achieve a particular result, and/orusing reduced processor or system resources, as compared to previoustechniques. In this way, a user experience can be enhanced by increasingthe usability and reducing the input time required for performing a manystep sequence, resulting in a more intuitive input experience for auser.

For example, the disclosed systems, methods, and products may includereceiving input data from an input device and processing the input datamore efficiently. The input devices are useful for providing input data,such as a string of letters or words, that can be interpreted asproviding a selection of one or more subsets of the data. As will beunderstood by the skilled artisan, buttons or arrays of buttons may bepresent on a keyboard, remote control, or other similar input device andare typically intended for providing input data via individual buttonspresses.

As used herein, a graphical user interface refers to an interactivedisplay in which commands can be entered and received using one or moreinput devices for purposes of controlling aspects of the graphical userinterface, including items or objects shown on the interface. Forexample, a user may perform item selection using a graphical userinterface, such as for entering letters or phrases into the graphicaluser interface, or for advancing a graphical user interface through oneor more menus. As another example, a user may input data using agraphical user interface such as by directing input using a virtualkeyboard or keypad. Graphical user interfaces may be displayed to a useron one or more display devices, such as a monitor, television, etc.Graphical user interfaces may be interactive or non-interactive. Forexample, a graphical user interface may include an input or navigationportion, such as including a grid or arrangement of interactive virtualbuttons or selection elements. Additionally or alternatively, portionsof a graphical user interface may be used for displaying media content,such as static images or video, which may not be interactive, forexample.

A user may enter or otherwise select one or more letters or words intoan input device to navigate a graphical user interface. However, theinput may only represent a subset of a longer string of letters or wordsthat the user intends to input over a longer period of time. Therefore,the input may be interpreted to be only the beginning of one of one ormore longer strings of letters or words. The graphical user interfacemay display a single selection or a list of words or phrases in responseto the input from the user based on this interpretation. Accurateinterpretation of the input may allow the graphical user interface tomore efficiently and accurately display a list of words or phrases thatmore accurately reflect the user's intent.

The data received and/or gathered to accurately interpret the input maycome from a variety of different sources. For example, the data mayinclude predetermined data related to the use of the graphical userinterface. For example, if the graphical user interface is a receiverinterface of a television receiver, the data may include data related totelevision shows, movies, popular culture, etc. In another example,other data may include historical data gathered over time related to theuser and the user's actions taken when interacting with the graphicaluser interface. In another example, other data may include environmentaldata related to the day, time, or other environmental conditions thatthe graphical user interface is in at the time.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a satellite television distributionsystem 100. While embodiments detailed herein may be applied to varioustelevision distribution systems, including cable and IP, a satellitetelevision distribution system is provided as an example. Satellitetelevision distribution system 100 may include: television serviceprovider system 110, satellite transmitter equipment 120, satellites130, satellite dish 140, television receiver 150, and display device160. Alternate embodiments of satellite television distribution system100 may include fewer or greater numbers of components. While only onesatellite dish 140, television receiver 150, and display device 160(collectively referred to as “user equipment”) are illustrated, itshould be understood that multiple (e.g., tens, thousands, millions)instances of user equipment may receive television signals fromsatellites 130.

Television service provider system 110 and satellite transmitterequipment 120 may be operated by a television service provider. Atelevision service provider may distribute television channels,on-demand programming, programming information, and/or other services tousers. Television service provider system 110 may receive feeds of oneor more television channels from various sources. Such televisionchannels may include multiple television channels that contain the samecontent (but may be in different formats, such as high-definition andstandard-definition). To distribute such television channels to users,feeds of the television channels may be relayed to user equipment viaone or more satellites via transponder streams. Satellite transmitterequipment 120 may be used to transmit a feed of one or more televisionchannels from television service provider system 110 to one or moresatellites 130. While a single television service provider system 110and satellite transmitter equipment 120 are illustrated as part ofsatellite television distribution system 100, it should be understoodthat multiple instances of transmitter equipment may be used, possiblyscattered geographically to communicate with satellites 130. Suchmultiple instances of satellite transmitting equipment may communicatewith the same or with different satellites. Different televisionchannels may be transmitted to satellites 130 from different instancesof transmitting equipment. For instance, a different satellite dish ofsatellite transmitter equipment 120 may be used for communication withsatellites in different orbital slots.

Satellites 130 may be configured to receive signals, such as streams oftelevision channels, from one or more satellite uplinks such assatellite transmitter equipment 120. Satellites 130 may relay receivedsignals from satellite transmitter equipment 120 (and/or other satellitetransmitter equipment) to multiple instances of user equipment viatransponder streams. Different frequencies may be used for uplinksignals 170 from transponder stream 180. Satellites 130 may be ingeosynchronous orbit. Each satellite 130 may be in a different orbitalslot, such that the signal paths between each satellite, transmitterequipment, and user equipment vary. Multiple satellites 130 may be usedto relay television channels from television service provider system 110to satellite dish 140. Different television channels may be carriedusing different satellites. Different television channels may also becarried using different transponders of the same satellite; thus, suchtelevision channels may be transmitted at different frequencies and/ordifferent frequency ranges. As an example, a first and second televisionchannel may be carried on a first transponder of satellite 130-1. Athird, fourth, and fifth television channel may be carried using adifferent satellite or a different transponder of the same satelliterelaying the transponder stream at a different frequency. A transponderstream transmitted by a particular transponder of a particular satellitemay include a finite number of television channels, such as seven.Accordingly, if many television channels are to be made available forviewing and recording, multiple transponder streams may be necessary totransmit all of the television channels to the instances of userequipment.

Satellite dish 140 may be a piece of user equipment that is used toreceive transponder streams from one or more satellites, such assatellites 130. Satellite dish 140 may be provided to a user for use ona subscription basis to receive television channels provided by thetelevision service provider system 110, satellite transmitter equipment120, and/or satellites 130. Satellite dish 140 may be configured toreceive transponder streams from multiple satellites and/or multipletransponders of the same satellite. Satellite dish 140 may be configuredto receive television channels via transponder streams on multiplefrequencies. Based on the characteristics of television receiver 150and/or satellite dish 140, it may only be possible to capturetransponder streams from a limited number of transponders concurrently.For example, a tuner of television receiver 150 may only be able to tuneto a single transponder stream from a transponder of a single satelliteat a time.

In communication with satellite dish 140 may be one or more sets ofreceiving equipment. Receiving equipment may be configured to decodesignals received from satellites 130 via satellite dish 140 for displayon a display device, such as display device 160. Receiving equipment maybe incorporated as part of a television or may be part of a separatedevice, commonly referred to as a set-top box (STB). Receiving equipmentmay include a satellite tuner configured to receive television channelsvia a satellite. In FIG. 1, receiving equipment is present in the formof television receiver 150. As such, television receiver 150 may decodesignals received via satellite dish 140 and provide an output to displaydevice 160. FIG. 2 provides additional detail of a television receiver.A television receiver is defined to include set-top boxes (STBs) andalso circuitry having similar functionality that may be incorporatedwith another device. For instance, circuitry similar to that of atelevision receiver may be incorporated into a television. As such,while FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of television receiver 150 asseparate from display device 160, it should be understood that in otherembodiments, similar functions may be performed by a television receiverintegrated with display device 160.

Display device 160 may be used to present video and/or audio decoded bytelevision receiver 150. Television receiver 150 may also output adisplay of one or more interfaces to display device 160, such as anelectronic programming guide (EPG). In some embodiments, a displaydevice other than a television may be used. Display device 160 may be atelevision, monitor, or some other device configured to display videoand, possibly, play audio.

Uplink signal 170-1 represents a signal between satellite transmitterequipment 120 and satellite 130-1. Uplink signal 170-2 represents asignal between satellite transmitter equipment 120 and satellite 130-2.Each of uplink signals 170 may contain streams of one or more differenttelevision channels. For example, uplink signal 170-1 may contain acertain group of television channels, while uplink signal 170-2 containsa different grouping of television channels. Each of these televisionchannels may be scrambled such that unauthorized persons are preventedfrom accessing the television channels.

Transponder stream 180-1 represents a signal between satellite 130-1 andsatellite dish 140. Transponder stream 180-2 represents a signal pathbetween satellite 130-2 and satellite dish 140. Each of transponderstreams 180 may contain one or more different television channels in theform of transponder streams, which may be at least partially scrambled.For example, transponder stream 180-1 may include a first transponderstream containing a first group of television channels, whiletransponder stream 180-2 may include a second transponder streamcontaining a different group of television channels. A satellite maytransmit multiple transponder streams to user equipment. For example, atypical satellite may relay thirty-two transponder streams viacorresponding transponders to user equipment. Further, spot beams arepossible. For example, a satellite may be able to transmit a transponderstream to a particular geographic region (e.g., to distribute localtelevision channels to the relevant market). Different televisionchannels may be transmitted using the same frequency of the transponderstream to a different geographic region.

FIG. 1 illustrates transponder stream 180-1 and transponder stream 180-2being received by satellite dish 140. For a first group of televisionchannels, satellite dish 140 may receive a transponder stream oftransponder stream 180-1; for a second group of channels, a transponderstream of transponder stream 180-2 may be received. Television receiver150 may decode the received transponder stream. As such, depending onwhich television channel(s) are desired, a transponder stream from adifferent satellite (or a different transponder of the same satellite)may be accessed and decoded by television receiver 150. Further, whiletwo satellites are present in satellite television distribution system100, in other embodiments greater or fewer numbers of satellites may bepresent for receiving and transmitting transponder streams to userequipment.

Network 190 may serve as a secondary communication channel betweentelevision service provider system 110 and television receiver 150. Viasuch a secondary communication channel, bidirectional exchange of datamay occur. As such, data may be transmitted to television serviceprovider system 110 via network 190. Data may also be transmitted fromtelevision service provider system 110 to television receiver 150 vianetwork 190. Network 190 may be the Internet. While audio and videoservices may be provided to television receiver 150 via satellites 130,feedback from television receiver 150 to television service providersystem 110 may be transmitted via network 190.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a satellite-based television channeldistribution system. It should be understood that at least some of theaspects of such a system may be similar to a cable televisiondistribution system. For example, in a cable television system, ratherthan using satellite transponders, multiple RF channels on a cable maybe used to transmit streams of television channels. As such, aspectsdetailed herein may be applicable to cable television distributionsystems.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of television receiver 200, which maytypically be in the form of a separate device configured to be connectedwith a presentation device, such as a television. Embodiments oftelevision receiver 200 may include set top boxes (STBs). As previouslynoted, in addition to being in the form of an STB, a television receivermay be incorporated into another device, such as a television. Forexample, a television may have an integrated television receiver (whichdoes not involve an external STB being coupled with the television). AnSTB may contain some or all of the components of television receiver 200and/or may be able to perform some or all of the functions of televisionreceiver 200. Accordingly, instances in this document referring to anSTB and steps being performed by an STB may also be performed, moregenerally, by a television receiver.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of televisionreceiver 200 that is configured to record omnibus channel files andextract a television program from a recorded omnibus channel file.Television receiver 200 may be the television receiver of FIG. 1 and maybe in the form of an STB that communicates with a display device such asa television. Television receiver 200 may be incorporated as part of atelevision, such as display device 160 of FIG. 1. Television receiver200 may include: processors 210 (which may include control processor210-1 and tuning management processor 210-2), tuners 215, networkinterface 220, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium 225,electronic programming guide (EPG) database 230, television interface235, networking information table (NIT) 240, digital video recorder(DVR) database 245 (which may include provider-managed televisionprogramming storage 246 and/or user-defined television programming 247),on-demand programming 227, user interface 250, external storage device252, PID filters 255, smart card 260, and/or descrambling engine 265. Inother embodiments of television receiver 200, fewer or greater numbersof components may be present. It should be understood that the variouscomponents of television receiver 200 may be implemented using hardware,firmware, software, and/or some combination thereof. Functionality ofcomponents may be combined; for example, functions of descramblingengine 265 may be performed by tuning management processor 210-2.Further, functionality of components may be spread among additionalcomponents; for example, PID filters 255 may be handled by separatehardware from program management table 257.

Processors 210 may include one or more specialized and/orgeneral-purpose processors configured to perform processes such astuning to a particular channel, accessing and displaying EPG informationfrom EPG database 230, and/or receiving and processing input from auser. For example, processors 210 may include one or more processorsdedicated to decoding video signals from a particular format, such asMPEG, for output and display on a television and for performingdecryption. It should be understood that the functions performed byvarious modules of FIG. 2 may be performed using one or more processors.As such, for example, functions of descrambling engine 265 may beperformed by control processor 210-1.

Control processor 210-1 may communicate with tuning management processor210-2. Control processor 210-1 may control the recording of televisionchannels based on timers stored in DVR database 245. Control processor210-1 may initiate recording of a television channel by sending a recordcommand along with an indication of the television channel to berecorded to tuning management processor 210-2. Control processor 210-1may not send a second record command (if additional recording is tobegin at the same time) until an acknowledgement that recording of thefirst television channel has successfully been received and initiated bytuning management processor 210-2. Control processor 210-1 may alsoprovide commands to tuning management processor 210-2 when recording ofa television channel is to cease. In addition to providing commandsrelating to the recording of television channels, control processor210-1 may provide commands to tuning management processor 210-2 thatindicate television channels to be output to audio/video decoder 233 foroutput to a presentation device, such as a television.

Control processor 210-1 may also communicate with network interface 220and user interface 250. Control processor 210-1 may handle incoming datafrom network interface 220 and user interface 250. Additionally, controlprocessor 210-1 may be configured to output data via network interface220.

Tuners 215 may include one or more tuners used to tune to televisionchannels, such as television channels transmitted via satellite orcable. In the illustrated embodiment of television receiver 200, threetuners are present (tuner 215-1, tuner 215-2, and tuner 215-3). Eachtuner contained in tuners 215 may be capable of receiving and processinga single stream of data from a satellite transponder (or a cable RFchannel) at a given time. As such, a single tuner may tune to a singletransponder (or, for a cable network, a single cable RF channel). Iftuners 215 include multiple tuners, one tuner may be used to tune to atelevision channel on a first transponder stream for display using atelevision, while another tuner may be used to tune to a televisionchannel on a second transponder for recording and viewing at some othertime. Still another tuner may be used to check various televisionchannels to determine if they are available or not. If multipletelevision channels transmitted on the same transponder stream aredesired, a single tuner of tuners 215 may be used to receive the signalcontaining the multiple television channels for presentation and/orrecording. Tuners 215 may receive commands from tuning managementprocessor 210-2. Such commands may instruct tuners 215 which frequenciesare to be used for tuning.

Network interface 220 may be used to communicate via an alternatecommunication channel with a television service provider. For example,the primary communication channel may be via satellite (which may beunidirectional to the STB) and the alternate communication channel(which may be bidirectional) may be via a network, such as the Internet.Referring back to FIG. 1, television receiver 150 may be able tocommunicate with television service provider system 110 via a network,such as the Internet. This communication may be bidirectional: data maybe transmitted from television receiver 150 to television serviceprovider system 110 and from television service provider system 110 totelevision receiver 150. Referring back to FIG. 2, network interface 220may be configured to communicate via one or more networks, such as theInternet, to communicate with television service provider system 110 ofFIG. 1. Information may be transmitted and/or received via networkinterface 220.

Storage medium 225 may represent a non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium. Storage medium 225 may include memory and/or a harddrive. Storage medium 225 may be used to store information received fromone or more satellites and/or information received via network interface220. Storage medium 225 may store information related to EPG database230, other non-video/audio data 231, DVR database 245, and/or on-demandprogramming 227. Recorded television programs may be stored usingstorage medium 225 as part of DVR database 245. Storage medium 225 maybe partitioned or otherwise divided (such as into folders) such thatpredefined amounts of storage medium 225 are devoted to storage oftelevision programs recorded due to user-defined timers and stored oftelevision programs recorded due to provider-defined timers.

EPG database 230 may store information related to television channelsand the timing of programs appearing on such television channels. EPGdatabase 230 may be stored using storage medium 225, which may be a harddrive. Information from EPG database 230 may be used to inform users ofwhat television channels or programs are popular and/or providerecommendations to the user. Information from EPG database 230 mayprovide the user with a visual interface displayed by a television thatallows a user to browse and select television channels and/or televisionprograms for viewing and/or recording. Information used to populate EPGdatabase 230 may be received via network interface 220 and/or viasatellites, such as satellites 130 of FIG. 1 via tuners 215. Forinstance, updates to EPG database 230 may be received periodically viasatellite. EPG database 230 may serve as an interface for a user tocontrol DVR functions of television receiver 200, and/or to enableviewing and/or recording of multiple television channels simultaneously.

In addition to being used to provide users with information aboutscheduled programming, information from EPG database 230 may be used todetermine when television programs begin and end for the purposes ofrecording. For instance, if a channel-specific file is recorded thatcontains multiple television programs, the start and end of time ofspecific television programs within the channel-specific file may bebased on the start and end times indicated in the EPG. Other data may bestored for the EPG that may be useful in managing channel-specificfiles, such as series identifiers and episode identifiers (which may beused by a television service provider to identify particular televisionprograms).

The network information table (NIT) 240 may store information used bytelevision receiver 200 to access various television channels. NIT 240may be stored locally by a processor, such as tuning managementprocessor 210-2 and/or by storage medium 225. Information used topopulate NIT 240 may be received via satellite (or cable) through tuners215 and/or may be received via network interface 220 from the televisionservice provider. As such, information present in NIT 240 may beperiodically updated. In some embodiments, NIT 240 may be locally-storedby television receiver 200 using storage medium 225. Generally, NIT 240may store information about a service provider network, such as asatellite-based service provider network. Information that may bepresent in NIT 240 may include: television channel numbers, satelliteidentifiers, frequency identifiers and/or transponder identifiers forvarious television channels. In some embodiments, NIT 240 may containadditional data or additional tables may be stored by the televisionreceiver. For example, specific audio PIDs and video PIDs may not bepresent in NIT 240, a channel identifier may be present within NIT 240which may be used to look up the audio PIDs and video PIDs in anothertable, such as a program map table (PMT). In some embodiments, a PIDassociated with the data for the PMT is indicated in a separate table,program association table (PAT), which is not illustrated in FIG. 2. APAT may be stored by the television receiver in a similar manner to theNIT. For example, a PMT may store information on audio PIDs, and/orvideo PIDs. A PMT store data on ECM (entitlement control message) PIDsfor television channels that are transmitted on a transponder frequency.

Table 1 provides a simplified example of NIT 240 for several televisionchannels. It should be understood that in other embodiments, many moretelevision channels may be represented in NIT 240. NIT 240 may beperiodically updated by a television service provider. As such,television channels may be reassigned to different satellites and/ortransponders, and television receiver 200 may be able to handle thisreassignment as long as NIT 240 is updated.

TABLE 1 Channel Satellite Transponder 4 1 2 5 2 11 7 2 3 13 2 4

Based on information in the NIT, it may be possible to determine theproper satellite and transponder to which to tune for a particulartelevision channel. In some embodiments, the NIT may list a particularfrequency to which to tune for a particular television channel. Oncetuned to the proper satellite/transponder/frequency, the PMT PID may beused to retrieve a program management table that indicates the PIDs foraudio and video streams of television channels transmitted by thattransponder.

It should be understood that the values provided in Table 1 are forexample purposes only. Actual values, including how satellites andtransponders are identified, may vary. Additional information may alsobe stored in NIT 240.

While a large portion of storage space of storage medium 225 is devotedto storage of television programming, a portion 241 may be devoted tostorage of non-audio/video data, such as EPG database 230 and othernon-video/audio data 231. This “other” data may permit televisionreceiver 200 to function properly. In some embodiments, at least tengigabytes are allocated to such other data. For example, if NIT 240 isstored by storage medium 225, it may be part of other non-video/audiodata 231.

Audio/video decoder 233 may serve to convert encoded video and audiointo a format suitable for output to a display device. For instance,audio/video decoder 233 may receive MPEG video and audio from storagemedium 225 or descrambling engine 265 to be output to a television. MPEGvideo and audio from storage medium 224 may have been recorded to DVRdatabase 245 as part of a previously-recorded television program.Audio/video decoder 233 may convert the MPEG video and audio into aformat appropriate to be displayed by a television or other form ofdisplay device and audio into a format appropriate to be output fromspeakers, respectively.

Television interface 235 may serve to output a signal to a television(or another form of display device) in a proper format for display ofvideo and playback of audio. As such, television interface 235 mayoutput one or more television channels, stored television programmingfrom storage medium 225 (e.g., television programs from DVR database245, television programs from on-demand programming 227 and/orinformation from EPG database 230) to a television for presentation.

Digital Video Recorder (DVR) functionality may permit a televisionchannel to be recorded for a period of time. DVR functionality oftelevision receiver 200 may be managed by control processor 210-1.Control processor 210-1 may coordinate the television channel, starttime, and stop time of when recording of a television channel is tooccur. DVR database 245 may store information related to the recordingof television channels. DVR database 245 may store timers that are usedby control processor 210-1 to determine when a television channel shouldbe tuned to and its programs recorded to DVR database 245 of storagemedium 225. In some embodiments, a limited amount of storage medium 225may be devoted to DVR database 245. Timers may be set by the televisionservice provider and/or one or more users of television receiver 200.

The DVR functionality of control processor 210-1 may have multiplemodes. First, the DVR functionality of control processor 210-1 may beconfigured to record individual television programs selected by a userto user-defined television programming 247. Such user-defined televisionprogramming 247 may be recorded based on user-defined timers. Eachuser-defined timer is set by a user and specifies a date, televisionchannel, and a time period for recording. User-defined televisionprogramming 247, in addition to including audio and video data for thetelevision program, may include data about the recording, such as a timeand/or date of when the television program was recorded, whether thetelevision program has been designated as protected, and EPGinformation. To create a user-defined timer, a user may select aparticular television program via a graphically-displayed EPG. Based onthe date, time period, and television channel indicated by EPG database230, Control processor 210-1 may record the associated televisionprogram to user-managed television programming storage 247 of DVRdatabase 245. In some embodiments, a series identifier and episodeidentifier may be used to schedule a timer to record the broadcast of atelevision program.

DVR database 245 may also be used to record recordings of serviceprovider-defined television channels. For each day, an array of filesmay be created. For example, based on provider-defined timers, a filemay be created for each recorded television channel for a day. Forexample, if four television channels are recorded from 6-10 PM on agiven day, four files may be created (one for each television channel).Within each file, one or more television programs may be present. Theservice provider may define the television channels, the dates, and thetime periods for which the television channels are recorded for theprovider-defined timers. The provider-defined timers may be transmittedto television receiver 200 via the television provider's network. Forexample, referring to system 100 of FIG. 1, in a satellite-basedtelevision service provider system, data necessary to create theprovider-defined timers at television receiver 150 may be received viasatellite.

As an example of DVR functionality of television receiver 200 being usedto record based on provider-defined timers, a television serviceprovider may configure television receiver 200 to record televisionprogramming on multiple, predefined television channels for a predefinedperiod of time, on predefined dates. For instance, a television serviceprovider may configure television receiver 200 such that televisionprogramming may be recorded from 7 to 10 PM on NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX oneach weeknight and from 6 to 10 PM on each weekend night on the samechannels. If a television program is selected for recording by a userand is also specified for recording by the television service provider,the user selection may serve as an indication to save the televisionprogram for an extended time (beyond the time which the predefinedrecording would otherwise be saved). Television programming recordedbased on provider-defined timers may be stored to provider-managedtelevision programming storage 246.

Storage space of storage medium 225 may be allocated amongprovider-managed television programming storage 246 and user-managedtelevision programming storage 247. For instance, space that isallocated to provider-managed television programming storage 246 may bereallocated to user-managed television programming storage 247; thereverse may also be possible. Reallocation may occur based onuser-preferences and/or service provider propagated settings.

On-demand programming 227 may represent additional televisionprogramming stored by storage medium 225. On-demand programming 227 mayinclude television programming that was not recorded to storage medium225 via a timer (either user- or provider-defined). Rather, on-demandprogramming is programming provided to the television receiver directlyfor storage by the television receiver and for later presentation to oneor more users. In some systems, such as cable and IP-based televisiondistribution networks, on-demand content is requested by a televisionreceiver and retrieved from a remote server in response to a userrequesting the on-demand content. In other systems, such as systems inwhich bandwidth is at a premium and/or communication to the televisionreceiver is one-way (e.g., satellite-based television distributionnetworks), on-demand content may be pre-loaded to a television receiverfor the possibility of a user requesting the on-demand content.On-demand content may be “free” (e.g., included in the cost of a user'ssubscription with the television service provider) or may bepay-per-view (e.g., a movie that costs an amount of money to be viewed).On-demand programming 227 may not be user-selected. As such, thetelevision programming stored to on-demand programming storage 227 maybe the same for each television receiver of a television serviceprovider. In some embodiments, programming stored to on-demandprogramming storage 227 may be standardized based on a manufacturerand/or model of television receiver (e.g., television receivers of thesame make and/or model store the same on-demand programming). Whaton-demand programming and for how long such on-demand programming isretained by the television receiver may be determined based on settingspropagated by the television service provider.

Storage space of storage medium 225 may also be allocated amongprovider-managed television programming storage 246, user-managedtelevision programming storage 247, and on-demand programming storage227. For instance, space may be allocated among provider-managedtelevision programming storage 246, user-managed television programmingstorage 247, and/or on-demand programming storage 227. Reallocation mayoccur based on user-preferences and/or service provider propagatedsettings.

User interface 250 may include a remote control (physically separatefrom television receiver 200) and/or one or more buttons on televisionreceiver 200 that allow a user to interact with television receiver 200.User interface 250 may be used to select a television channel forviewing, view information from EPG database 230, and/or program a timerstored to DVR database 245, wherein the timer is used to control the DVRfunctionality of control processor 210-1.

Referring back to tuners 215, television channels received via satellite(or cable) may contain at least some scrambled data. Packets of audioand video may be scrambled to prevent unauthorized users (e.g.,nonsubscribers) from receiving television programming without paying thetelevision service provider. When a tuner of tuners 215 is receivingdata from a particular transponder of a satellite, the transponderstream may be a series of data packets corresponding to multipletelevision channels. Each data packet may contain a packet identifier(PID), which, in combination with NIT 240 and/or PMT 257, can bedetermined to be associated with particular television channel.Particular data packets, referred to as entitlement control messages(ECMs) may be periodically transmitted. ECMs may be associated withanother PID and may be encrypted; television receiver 200 may use smartcard 260 to decrypt ECMs. Decryption of an ECM may only be possible ifthe user has authorization to access the particular television channelassociated with the ECM. When an ECM is determined to correspond to atelevision channel being stored and/or displayed, the ECM may beprovided to smart card 260 for decryption.

When smart card 260 receives an encrypted ECM, smart card 260 maydecrypt the ECM to obtain some number of control words. In someembodiments, from each ECM received by smart card 260, two control wordsare obtained. In some embodiments, when smart card 260 receives an ECM,it compares the ECM to the previously received ECM. If the two ECMsmatch, the second ECM is not decrypted because the same control wordswould be obtained. In other embodiments, each ECM received by smart card260 is decrypted; however, if a second ECM matches a first ECM, theoutputted control words will match; thus, effectively, the second ECMdoes not affect the control words output by smart card 260. Smart card260 may be permanently part of television receiver 200 or may beconfigured to be inserted and removed from television receiver 200.

Tuning management processor 210-2 may be in communication with tuners215 and control processor 210-1. Tuning management processor 210-2 maybe configured to receive commands from control processor 210-1. Suchcommands may indicate when to start/stop recording a television channeland/or when to start/stop causing a television channel to be output to atelevision. Tuning management processor 210-2 may control tuners 215.Tuning management processor 210-2 may provide commands to tuners 215that instruct the tuners which satellite, transponder, and/or frequencyto tune to. From tuners 215, tuning management processor 210-2 mayreceive transponder streams of packetized data. As previously detailed,some or all of these packets may include a PID that identifies thecontent of the packet.

Tuning management processor 210-2 may be configured to create one ormore PID filters 255 that sort packets received from tuners 215 based onthe PIDs. When a tuner is initially tuned to a particular frequency(e.g., to a particular transponder of a satellite) a PID filter may becreated based on the PMT data. The PID created based on the PMT datapackets may be known because it is stored as part of NIT 240 or anothertable, such as a program association table (PAT). From the PMT datapackets, PMT may be constructed by tuning management processor 210-2.Table 2 provides an exemplary extract of a PMT. PMT 257 may be specificto a television channel on a transponder. As such, if tuning to adifferent television channel or transponder occurs, a new PMT may becreated for the different transponder.

TABLE 2 Channel Video PID 1^(st) Audio PID 2^(nd) Audio PID 4 1003 23832119 5 2993 2727 2728 7 9238 1233 0129 13 0012 9348 —

Accordingly, based on the information present in PMT 257, the audio andvideo PIDs for specific television channels may be identified. Atelevision channel may have multiple audio PIDs due to a second audioprogram (SAP), which may be in a different language.

It should be understood that the values provided in Table 2 are forexample purposes only. Actual values may vary. Additional information orless information may also be stored in PMT 257.

PID filters 255 may be configured to filter data packets based on PIDs.In some embodiments, PID filters 255 are created and executed by tuningmanagement processor 210-2. In other embodiments, separate hardware maybe used to create and execute such PID filters. Depending on atelevision channel selected for recording/viewing, a PID filter may becreated to filter the video and audio packets associated with thetelevision channel (based on the PID assignments present in PMT 257).For example, if a transponder data stream includes multiple televisionchannels, data packets corresponding to a television channel that is notdesired to be stored or displayed by the user may be ignored by PIDfilters 255. As such, only data packets corresponding to the one or moretelevision channels desired to be stored and/or displayed may befiltered and passed to either descrambling engine 265 or smart card 260;other data packets may be ignored. For each television channel, a streamof video packets, a stream of audio packets (one or both of the audioprograms) and/or a stream of ECM packets may be present, each streamidentified by a PID. In some embodiments, a common ECM stream may beused for multiple television channels. Additional data packetscorresponding to other information, such as updates to NIT 240, may beappropriately routed by PID filters 255. At a given time, one ormultiple PID filters may be executed by tuning management processor210-2.

Descrambling engine 265 may use the control words output by smart card260 in order to descramble video and/or audio corresponding totelevision channels for storage and/or presentation. Video and/or audiodata contained in the transponder data stream received by tuners 215 maybe scrambled. Video and/or audio data may be descrambled by descramblingengine 265 using a particular control word. Which control word output bysmart card 260 to be used for successful descrambling may be indicatedby a scramble control identifier present within the data packetcontaining the scrambled video or audio. Descrambled video and/or audiomay be output by descrambling engine 265 to storage medium 225 forstorage (in DVR database 245) and/or to audio/video decoder 233 foroutput to a television or other presentation equipment via televisioninterface 235.

External storage device 252 may represent an external, detachablecomputer-readable non-transitory storage device. The storage device maybe memory, a hard drive, or some other type of device for storingcomputer-readable data. The user may be permitted to connect anddisconnect external storage device 252 to increase and decrease anamount of storage space available for storing on-demand programming,service provider-managed television programming, and/or user managedtelevision programming. When external storage device 252 is connected totelevision receiver 200, storage space on storage medium 225 may bereallocated based on additional storage space now being present onexternal storage device 252. As such, from the viewpoint of a user,additional space may be available for television programming recordedusing user-defined timers. If an external storage device 252 isconnected to a television receiver 200, external storage device 252 maybe used for provider-managed television programming storage 246 with DVRdatabase 245 being dedicated to user-managed television programmingstorage 247 (the reverse is also possible). As such, external storagedevice 252 may be used to isolate provider managed televisionprogramming from user managed television programming. Alternatively,television programming recorded due to provider-managed timers anduser-managed timers may be stored on both DVR database 245 and externalstorage device 252. In some embodiments, when DVR database 245 becomesfull, the recorded television programs may begin being written toexternal storage device 252. If an external storage device 252 isremoved from being connected with television receiver 200, storage spaceon storage medium 225 may be reallocated to compensate for the loss ofstorage space. As such, if the total amount of space needed to bededicated to on-demand programming storage 227 and television programsrecorded based on provider-managed timers remains constant, televisionprogramming recorded due to user-managed timers may be deleted (or spaceavailable to record such programming may be decreased) to makesufficient storage space available on storage medium 225 for on-demandprogramming storage 227 and provider-managed television programmingstorage 246.

For simplicity, television receiver 200 of FIG. 2 has been reduced to ablock diagram; commonly known parts, such as a power supply, have beenomitted. Further, some routing between the various modules of televisionreceiver 200 has been illustrated. Such illustrations are for exemplarypurposes only. The state of two modules not being directly or indirectlyconnected does not indicate the modules cannot communicate. Rather,connections between modules of the television receiver 200 are intendedonly to indicate possible common data routing. It should be understoodthat the modules of television receiver 200 may be combined into a fewernumber of modules or divided into a greater number of modules. Further,the components of television receiver 200 may be part of another device,such as built into a television. Also, while television receiver 200 maybe used to receive, store, and present television channels received viaa satellite, it should be understood that similar components may be usedto receive, store, and present television channels via a cable network.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example television display configuration 300, inaccordance with some embodiments. Television display configuration 300includes television 302, receiver 304 and remote control 306. Television302 may, for example, represent television 160 illustrated in FIG. 1, oranother non-television display device, such as a computer monitor.Television 302 displays a graphical user interface, exemplified as areceiver interface provided by television receiver 304.

As will be understood by the skilled artisan, video signal encodinghardware present within receiver 304 may encode a video signal, such asincluding the receiver interface and/or television video programming,which is output from the receiver 304. In embodiments, the video signalmay be a digital video signal or an analog video signal, which may beprovided to television 302, such as using one or more signal cables,such as a composite, S-video, high-definition multimedia interface(HDMI) or other digital or analog signal cable. Embodiments arecontemplated where a video signal is provided from receiver 304 totelevision 302 by way of one or more networks or one or moreintermediate devices. Optionally, a video signal may be provided in anuncompressed form or in a compressed form. Upon receiving the videosignal, television receiver may decode or otherwise process the videosignal for display on the screen of television 302.

Receiver 304 includes remote control interface 308 for receivingcommands from remote control 306. Remote control interface 308 may beexemplified by a variety of hardware, such as for wirelessly receivingcommands from remote control 306. Wireless remote commands may bereceived, for example, using one or more wireless technologies, such asoptical, infrared or radio frequency electromagnetic technologies. Inone embodiment, remote control interface 308 includes an infraredreceiver and remote control 306 includes an infrared transmitter. Inanother embodiment, remote control interface 308 includes a Bluetoothreceiver and remote control 306 includes a Bluetooth transmitter. Otherexamples are possible. Optionally, remote commands from remote control306 may be received over a wired connection at remote control interface308.

Remote control 306 is illustrated as including a plurality of buttons310, as will be understood by the skilled artisan, for communicating anyof a set of remote commands to receiver 304 by way of remote controlinterface 308. Remote control 306 could further include an interfaceitself, such as interface 312, which may include a touchpad or trackpadtype interface. Interface 312 could include one or more graphics on thesurface, such as numerals or other symbols. Interface 312 may also beuseful for generation of coordinates corresponding to locations of theremote control 306 at which inputs are received. For example,coordinates may be generated by interface 312 that correspond to thelocation on the interface at which a user's finger contacts the surfaceof the interface. Interface 312 may also include one or more buttonswhich may be clickable, as will be understood by the skilled artisan, toallow the interface to register button presses, which may becommunicated and/or interpreted as selection or confirmation signals, inaddition to location coordinates. Inputs at buttons 310 or an interface312 may be transmitted by remote control 306, via communication path314, for receipt at remote control interface 308. Data may also betransmitted by receiver 304 to remote control 306 via communication path316.

Other remote control types are envisioned, including, but not limited togesture based devices, such as including one or more gyroscopic sensors,one or more accelerometers, one or more video or optical sensors, one ormore depth sensors, one or more range sensors, and/or one or more motionsensors.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment showing a receiver interface 402 with aTV search mechanism 404 for entry of data and a remote control 406,according to some embodiments. As illustrated, receiver interface 402shows a virtual keyboard 403 for entry of text into a search box 401.The search box may be used, as will be described further herein, tosearch through an EPG or database within a television receiverassociated with receiver interface 402. Characters may be selectable,such as using remote control 406. Further aspects of FIG. 4 illustrate auser providing data to a television receiver, resulting in modificationof receiver interface 402. When a user's finger makes contact with abutton or interface of remote control 406, coordinates or other data maybe generated by remote control 406 and transmitted to a televisionreceiver, for example. When the data is received by a televisionreceiver, the receiver interface 402 may be modified, such as to includean indicator at the virtual keyboard 403, here exemplified as ahighlighted border around the character “T”, and/or search box 401, hereexemplified as the letter “T” in search box 401. If remote control 406includes a touch sensitive interface, for example, then a cursor orother indicator may move on the receiver interface 402 (e.g., on thevirtual keyboard 403) in a way that corresponds to movement of theuser's finger on the interface of remote control 406. In such anexample, when the user presses down on a button associated with theinterface, data associated with these respective locations may betransmitted to the television receiver. When data is received by thetelevision receiver, again the receiver interface 402 may be modified,such as to include an indicator at the virtual keyboard 403, hereexemplified as a highlighted border around the character “T”, and/orsearch box 401, here exemplified as the letter “T” in search box 401.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment showing a receiver interface 502 with aTV search interface 504 for entry of data and a search results interface518, according to some embodiments. Receiver interface 502 shows avirtual keyboard 503 for entry of text into a search box 501. Charactersmay be selectable using, for example, a remote control, such as remotecontrol 406 shown in FIG. 4. When a user makes a selection, including aletter or number, the virtual keyboard may light up or otherwise showselection of that letter or number, and the selection may be shown inthe search box 501, and/or may be shown in the results interface 518.

Results interface 518 includes a visualization of the dynamic searchprocess utilized in embodiments of the present technology. As aselection is made by the user, the results interface 518 may display alist of results that may be relevant to the user's selection. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 5, if the letter “T” is selected, then variousresults that include (e.g., start with) the letter “T” may be listed inthe results list in search results interface 518. Additionally, insteadof the result starting with “T”, a word other than the first word of theresult may start with “T”. As a second and further letters and/ornumbers are selected, the list of results may change based on theinputs. For example, if the letter “H” is entered after the letter “T”,then various results that include (e.g., start with) the letters “Th”may be listed in the results list in search results interface 518. Thisprocess may repeat for additional letters. The list of results mayinclude a variety of movies, television shows, sports teams, sportingevents, events, etc. that include the letter “T”, as shown in FIG. 5.

The list of results may be generated using a variety of different typesof data and data from a variety of different sources. The results listmay include the results in a certain order (e.g., by “ranking” or“rating”), and this order may also be determined using the variety ofdifferent types of data and data from a variety of different sources.For example, data related to a user actions taken when engaging with thereceiver interface may be recorded and stored over time, such as showsthat the user watches regularly, types of shows that the user watchesregularly, previous searches that the user made, interests that the userindicates based on their actions engaging with the receiver interface,publically available profile information associated with the user (e.g.Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, etc.), Common Sense data, among others.This data may be used to predict what the user may input into thereceiver interface and/or what the user may want to watch. For example,if the user has watched a lot (e.g., greater than a certain thresholdnumber of times or for greater than a certain threshold amount of time)of horror shows and movies, then the user may be interested in watchingThe Walking Dead. The user may also be interested in watching TheWalking Dead if the user has regularly watched The Walking Dead in thepast. Such data may be used to include The Walking Dead, or othersimilar shows or movies, in the results list. In another example, if theuser is a child, the ranking of a show may go up or down based onchildren warnings associated with a show.

In another example, data from public sources may also be used togenerate the results list. For example, data or information may bereceived or retrieved from online encyclopedia Wikipedia or other onlinesources of information. For example, external feeds for trending, suchas Wikipedia page ranking, may be used. In another example, twitterrankings or trending information may be used. If a major event occurs ina celebrity's life, the weighting of that celebrity or shows or otherprogramming may be boosted based on those events. Data regarding suchevents may be discovered through mining online sources of information.In another example, data related to popularity of a certain TV show,movie, actor/actress (or other celebrities), genre, etc. may be used.Data or information may be received or retrieved from rating websitessuch as IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes or other reviewing websites. Furthermore,data related to expected future popularity of a TV show, movie,actor/actress (or other celebrities), genre, etc. may also be used. Forexample, data may be generated related to a movie that the generalpublic expects to be popular, and that data may be used to help generatethe results list. In another example, data related to the environment inwhich the inputs are being made into the search interface may also beused. For example, data including the time of year (e.g., season,holiday, etc.), time of the month, day of the week, time of the day,etc. may all be used. For example, the system may generate a resultslist without football teams if the search is not being made duringfootball season. In another example, the location of an event or otherresult may determine whether a result is included or the ranking of aresult in the results list. For example, if an event is located in ornear the location of the user, then the result may be included and/ormoved higher in priority on the results list.

In another example, the location of the user of the television receivermay be used. For example, if the user is located in Denver, Colo., thenresults that are more relevant to such a user may be included in theresults list. For example, if a user selects “B” as its first letterinput, then the system may include the “Denver Broncos” in the resultslist for that user since that user is located in Denver, Colo., the cityin which the Denver Broncos are based. However, on the other hand, ifthe user who selects “B” is located in Boston, Mass., then the DenverBroncos may not be included in the results list.

In another example, data related to a television receiver and/ortelevision service provider system may be used. For example, informationabout scheduled programming and other information from a database, suchas EPG database 230 in FIG. 2, may be used to help generate the resultslist. For example, the system may generate a results list without acertain television show if the television show is not airing newepisodes during that time of year based on the scheduled programmingprovided by the television service provider system.

Other information related to scheduled programming may be used. Forexample, if the letter “T” is selected as an input, the system maydetermine how many potential results within each of a variety ofcategories (e.g., movies, television shows, sports, etc.) start with theletter “T”. For example, the system may have set a certain number, or amaximum number, of results that may be included in the results list fromone or more of the variety of categories. More specifically, the resultslist may be set to include a maximum of three movies in the resultslist. In such an example, the results may include a television show orsporting event in the results list even if a fourth movie is rankedhigher than the television show or sporting event.

As noted, different results within a result list may include ratings orrankings relative to the other results in the result list. The order inwhich the results are listed in the results list may be determined bythe rankings for each result. The rankings for the results may bedetermined based on the various data obtained by the television receiversystem. Each possible result (e.g., a television show, movie, sportsteam, etc.) may be assigned a rating for a user based on that data. Forexample, if, based on the data associated with a user and the otherobjective data obtained, a user watches every new episode of aparticular television show, then that television show may be rankedhigher than a different television show that the user has never watchedbefore. More specifically, if a user watches every episode of only oneshow, The Walking Dead, then The Walking Dead may have a higher rankingthan a different show, such as Top Chef, of which the user only watchesevery other episode. In such a situation, The Walking Dead may be listedfirst in a results list for that user (as shown in FIG. 5).

The ratings/rankings of possible results may be dynamic, or may changeover time (e.g., in real time), based on new or changing data obtainedby the television receiver system. For example, obtained data mayindicate that while the user watches a particular television show lessoften than others, that television show is not currently airing newepisodes, is going off the air, or may have received bad ratings (orother examples of the data collected, as described herein). In such anexample, another television show may be assigned a higher rating becauseof that data. Furthermore, certain data may be assigned more or lessweight when assigning a rating to a potential user result. For example,data that is collected from a user or the user's actions may be givenmore weight than another type of data because it is specific to theuser. More specifically, if data indicates that a user watches a certaintelevision show on a regular basis even when the television show is notrunning new episodes, that data may be weighed higher than the data thatindicates that the television show is not running new episodes. In suchan example, the user has shown that even though the television show isnot running new episodes, the user still watches the show regularly.Therefore, the data that indicates that the television show is notrunning new episodes is not as valuable or relevant than the data thatindicates that the user watches the television show. A set of data, or afactor relevant for rankings to generate a results list, may be given ahigher weight if the set of data is valuable or relevant, but may begiven a lower weight if the set of data is not valuable or not relevant.In another example, a program may be weighted/ranked higher if a userbinge watches a show (watches several episodes or seasons of the show ina short period of time) instead of casually watching the show over alonger period of time. More accurate weighting or rankings may beachieved by using a variety of different technologies, such as NLP,neural network processing, Bayesian statistics and networks, or othertechnologies.

Other data that may be used to determine programming rankings for a usermay include recommendations for the user. For example, the system mayuse recommendations otherwise determined for a user based on the user'swatching and/or preference data to determine where certain programmingshould be ranked (or how it should be weighted). Furthermore, a user'sreviews (e.g. rating a certain show highly, or poorly) of certain showsmay also be used to rank (or weight) those shows and associated shows.In turn, such reviews and the rankings/weightings may be used forrecommendations so that the system may recommend shows for the user towatch next.

As noted, different television shows, video games, DVDs, celebrities,novels, and other possible results may have associations with eachother. These associations may be assigned such that they arepredetermined and stored. In another embodiment, these associations maybe assigned in real time. For example, if a new data point is receivedrelated to a new possible result (e.g., a new movie, new televisionshow, new actor, etc.), then the new possible result may be assignedassociations to other possible results based on its relationship withthem. A result may be associated with another result based on a directrelationship or based on an indirect relationship through other results.For example, an actor (or other celebrity) may be associated with amovie or a television show if the actor was in that movie or televisionshow. In another example, an actor may be associated with another actorif the two actors worked together on a movie or a television show. Inanother example, an actor may be associated with a movie if an actressthat was in the movie has acted with the actor in the past (e.g., on aregular basis and have a strong association). These associations maycontribute to the rankings/ratings (or weighting) assigned to certainresults, and may cause certain results to be a part of a results listtogether.

A results list displayable in search results interface 518 may bedivided up into sets of slots, wherein each set may be designated to adifferent category of result (e.g., television shows, movies, sportsteams, sporting events, events, among others). As noted, results mayinclude a variety of programming, including television shows, movies,sports teams, sporting events, events, etc. The television receiversystem may set a certain number of slot allocations for each category ofresult. For example, if the search results list is designated to includemovies, television shows, and sports (e.g., teams, events, etc.), andnine total slots are included in the result list, the search resultslist may be designated to have exactly three movies, three televisionshows, and three sports-related results. However, the allocation ofsearch result list slots may be dynamic, or may change over time (e.g.,in real time), based on new or changing data obtained by the televisionreceiver system. For example, if a user watches significantly moresports than movies or television shows, then the slots in the searchresult list may be dynamically changed so that more than three slots areallocated to sports. For example, five slots may be allocated to sports,two slots allocated to television shows, and two slots allocated tomovies. More specifically, slots may be allocated to a certain categorybased on what percentage of television a user watches in each category.The percentage of television watched may be based on the number ofprograms watched in each category, may be based on the time watched ineach category, or may be based on another predetermined ratio. Inanother example, the slots may be allocated based on certain watchingthresholds being crossed. For example, the system may initiate a rulethat if a user watches or otherwise selects programs in a certaincategory over a certain percentage of time, a certain number of slotswill be allocated to that category.

FIG. 6 illustrates four different search results interfaces, accordingto some embodiments. As noted, a search result interface may include avisualization of the dynamic search process utilized in embodiments ofthe present technology. As a selection is made by the user, the resultsinterface may display a list of results that may be relevant to theuser's selection. The results in the results list and the order of theresults in the results list may dynamically change over time based onthe data input by a user and based on the data collected by thetelevision receiver, which may control the results interface.

For example, search results interface 618 a includes a results list 619a that includes nine itemized results based on an input of the letter“T” by a user. As noted, the results and their order may depend on avariety of different types of data, including data collected over timebased on the user's interactions with the interface and televisionreceiver, other user interactions that may feed information to thetelevision receiver, publicly available data related to the environmentthat the user is in when making a selection, publicly available datarelated to the results themselves, such as movie and television showratings, scheduling information received by the television receiver,user preferences, such as user preferences for certain shows, genres,etc., among other data. Search results interface 618 a shows resultslist 619 a, which includes “Texas Longhorns” and “Texas Rangers” asfirst and second results on the list, respectively. The user input of“T” that resulted in list 619 a may be located, from, or otherwiseassociated with the state of Texas. In another example, the user mayhave watched Texas Longhorns and/or Texas Rangers games or otherassociated material using the television receiver in the past.Furthermore, result three is the Tennessee Titans and result four is theTennessee Volunteers. Therefore, the user may generally be located inthe southern part of the United States, may watch a lot of footballgames, or may just like sports. The remaining results may be relevant tothe user based on the user's interactions, or they may be relevant tothe user because those results are popular choices or have high ratings.However, results 1-4 are listed above results 5-9 because the systemanalyzed data collected, and determined that the user would be moreinterested in results 1-4 than results 5-9. For example, data consideredmay indicate that the user is located in Texas and watches a lot ofsports, and that those factors were more highly rated than the factorsthat caused results 5-9 to be listed in the results list 619 a. Results1-4 may be listed higher because the determination that results 1-4 wererelevant to the user (and their assigned ratings) were based onsubjective criteria specific to the user instead of general criteriathat may apply to any average person.

Similarly, search results interface 618 b includes a results list 619 bthat includes nine itemized results based on an input of the letter “T”by a user. However, when this user selected an input of “T”, differentsearch results were included in the results list 619 b as compared toresults list 619 a. Search results list 619 b includes a variety ofprogramming, such as television shows related to cooking and a varietyof cartoon television shows. Therefore, this user may have shown aninterest in cooking. For example, the user may have watched a lot oftelevision shows related to cooking, may have indicated an interest incooking manually by sending that information to the television receiver,or related data may have been collected in some other way. Furthermore,the data may have indicated that the user also watches cartoons on aregular basis (or over a certain predetermined threshold amount oftime). However, the data may also indicate that the user watchescartoons only in the mornings and cooking related shows only in theevenings, and the cooking related shows should be rated higher than thecartoons because the user is performing the search (by selecting “T”) inthe evening.

As additional characters are selected when entering a search input, theresults list may dynamically change based on the characters that areentered. For example, as shown in search results interface 618 c, theentire word “The” has been selected. Because of this progress, resultslist 619 c only includes search results that include the word “The”.Similarly, results list 619 d in results interface 618 d include the toprated results for an input of “The W”. As a user progresses further andenters more characters, the results list may dynamically adjust based onthe inputs and based on additional data that has been collected overtime. However, results may be included even if they do not match exactlywith the characters that have been entered. For example, in results list619 d, result two includes “Fear The Walking Dead” and result nineincludes “The Talking Dead”. These results may be displayed because itis related to other results (e.g., The Walking Dead Season 19), andother users (or other collected data) may indicate that The Talking Deadis a popular television show to watch, either generally or along withThe Walking Dead (which does, for example, fit the entry of “The W” bythe user). Similar to other search results, Fear The Walking Dead may belisted in the rankings above The Talking Dead because of an analysis ofthe data collected regarding the user and other data.

FIG. 7 illustrates multiple search results interfaces that show groupingof search results, according to some embodiments. As noted, a searchresult interface may include a visualization of the dynamic searchprocess after a selection is made by the user, and the results interfacemay display a list of results that may be relevant to the user'sselection. However, many results can be joined together into differentgroups or categories of results. As shown in FIG. 7, search resultsinterface 718 a includes a list with several results (bolded forreference) that could be groups or parts of a group. For example, TheWalking Dead is a broad category of television shows, video games, DVDs,etc. and is related to a variety of actors/celebrities, novels, andother possible results. These results may have associations with eachother. Therefore, even if a user is very interested in a particulartelevision show, such as the Walking Dead, instead of listing allresults related to that television show, the results list may only listone result as a group. The group may be displayed in the results list asa group until a certain predetermined time. For example, the group maybe displayed in the results list as a group until the entire name of thegroup is spelled out or selected by a user. In another example, thegroup may be displayed in the results list as a group until a certainpredetermined number of characters of the group name have been spelledout or selected by a user. In another example, the group may bedisplayed in the results list as a group until a user has ceasedselecting characters in the search box. Other example methods for theare also possible.

As noted, different programming and other EPG listings, includingtelevision shows, video games, DVDs, actors (or other celebrities),novels, and other possible results may have associations with eachother. These associations may be assigned such that they arepredetermined and stored. In another embodiment, these associations maybe assigned in real time. For example, if a new data point is receivedrelated to a new possible result (e.g., a new movie, new televisionshow, new actor, etc.), then the new possible result may be assignedassociations to other possible results based on its relationship withthem. A result may be associated with another result based on a directrelationship or based on an indirect relationship through other results.For example, an actor may be associated with a movie or a televisionshow if the actor was in that movie or television show. In anotherexample, an actor may be associated with another actor if the two actorsworked together on a movie or a television show. In another example, anactor may be associated with a movie if an actress that was in the moviehas acted with the actor in the past (e.g., on a regular basis and havea strong association). These associations may contribute to the groupsthat are created and the rankings, ratings or weighting assigned to thegroups.

Even though a group is listed in a results list, individual results fromwithin a group may also be listed in the same results list. Similar toresults in a results list, groups may be assigned rankings or ratingsusing a method similar to that for assigning the same to individualresults. Therefore, an individual result may have a higher rating than agroup, such as even a group that the individual result is a part of.However, if a group is rated higher than an individual result that maybe included in that group, the system may reduce the rating of theindividual result (either temporarily or permanently) so that theindividual result is not included in the results list along with thegroup (e.g., to save space in the results list).

Groups may be curated or un-curated. Curated grouping may include groupsthat are manually created and stored at the television receiver for useduring search and selection by a user. For example, groups may becreated and received by the television receiver via a transponderstream, such as transponder stream 180-2 in FIG. 1. In other words, datawith group information may be transmitted from a television serviceprovider system, such as television service provider system 110 viasatellites and transponder streams from the satellites. Curated groupsmay also be manually changed by a user, for example by removing oradding results from groups of results. For example, if a user does notenjoy a certain season of a television show, then the user may removethat season from a group representing the television show, which mayinclude the different seasons of that television show. A user may alsocreate new groups based on the user's tastes. Un-curated groups may becreated using implicit grouping, or automatic grouping based on theletters or words entered by a user. Examples of un-curated groupsinclude the result lists shown in FIG. 6. Un-curated groups may becreated based on the real-time input by a user, and may take intoaccount a variety of data collected by the television receiver over timeand based on the environment at the time the group is being created.

When a user selects a group, new information may subsequently be listedin another results list that replaces or is displayed near the originalresults list that includes the group. For example, a second results listis illustrated as search results interface 718 b. Search resultsinterface 718 b includes a variety of search results related to TheWalking Dead, the user's selection. The individual results included inthe list in interface 718 b may not be included in the initial list(i.e. the list that is one level higher in the user list selectionprocess) to save room in that list, and because the user can gain accessto those results by selecting the group as a whole. Furthermore, asshown in FIG. 7, an additional search results interface 718 c mayreplace or be displayed next to interface 718 b and/or 718 a after auser continues to select a group from within a list, such as result “TheWalking Dead Season 5” of “The Walking Dead” group/list. Search resultsinterface 718 c includes more specific information related to the user'sselection, The Walking Dead Season 5. For example, as shown in FIG. 7,results interface 718 c includes a list of episodes from that group,among other results (e.g., a trailer—“Trailer”—for that season/group).

The television receiver may display an unlimited series of groups in acontinued string of groups when groups are selected by a user, or mayrestrict/limit the number of groups that can be selected (e.g., by theuser eventually reaching a “dead-end”).

FIG. 8 illustrates a search results interface and an informationinterface, according to some embodiments. As noted, many results can bejoined together into different groups or categories of results. However,the selection of a group or an individual search result may result inthe displaying of additional information related to the input orselection by a user. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, if a user selectsa certain result, such as actor Norman Reedus from the list in searchresults interface 818, another interface, information interface 822, maydisplay information related to that selection. For example, as shown ininterface 822, information (such as information related to the user'sselection or otherwise) may be displayed to inform the user of theinformation about the selection. The information may includeassociations or relationships that the input has.

Information displayed in an information interface, such as informationinterface 822, may also include a picture or multiple pictures, videos,or other media for viewing. Groups may also be associated with one ormore media.

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment of a method 900 for dynamicallygenerating a results list based on user, the user's input, and collectedtelevision receiver data, according to some embodiments. Method 900includes step 902, which includes receiving, via one or more tuners,from the television service provider distribution network, a set oftelevision data, wherein the television data is associated withprogramming of multiple television channels. Step 904 includes receivinga set of user data, wherein the user data includes data associated witha user of the television receiver. Step 906 includes receiving an inputfrom the user, wherein the input indicates a preference for a search.Step 908 includes determining a list of input results based on the setof television data, the set of user data, and the input. Step 910includes transmitting the list of television input results, wherein whenthe list of television input results is received, the list of televisioninput results is displayable on the display device.

A computer system as illustrated in FIG. 10 may be incorporated as partof the previously described computerized devices. For example, computersystem 1000 can represent some of the components of the televisionreceivers and/or television service provider systems. FIG. 10 provides aschematic illustration of one embodiment of a computer system 1000 thatcan perform the methods provided by various embodiments. It should benoted that FIG. 10 is meant only to provide a generalized illustrationof various components, any or all of which may be utilized asappropriate. FIG. 10, therefore, broadly illustrates how individualsystem elements may be implemented in a relatively separated orrelatively more integrated manner.

The computer system 1000 is shown comprising hardware elements that canbe electrically coupled via a bus 1005 (or may otherwise be incommunication, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include one ormore processors 1010, including without limitation one or moregeneral-purpose processors and/or one or more special-purpose processors(such as digital signal processing chips, graphics accelerationprocessors, and/or the like); one or more input devices 1015, which caninclude without limitation a mouse, a keyboard, and/or the like; and oneor more output devices 1020, which can include without limitation adisplay device, a printer, and/or the like.

The computer system 1000 may further include (and/or be in communicationwith) one or more non-transitory storage devices 1025, which cancomprise, without limitation, local and/or network accessible storage,and/or can include, without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, anoptical storage device, a solid-state storage device, such as a randomaccess memory (“RAM”), and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can beprogrammable, flash-updateable and/or the like. Such storage devices maybe configured to implement any appropriate data stores, includingwithout limitation, various file systems, database structures, and/orthe like.

The computer system 1000 might also include a communications subsystem1030, which can include without limitation a modem, a network card(wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wirelesscommunication device, and/or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth™ device, an802.11 device, a WiFi device, a WiMax device, cellular communicationfacilities, etc.), and/or the like. The communications subsystem 1030may permit data to be exchanged with a network (such as the networkdescribed below, to name one example), other computer systems, and/orany other devices described herein. In many embodiments, the computersystem 1000 will further comprise a working memory 1035, which caninclude a RAM or ROM device, as described above.

The computer system 1000 also can comprise software elements, shown asbeing currently located within the working memory 1035, including anoperating system 1040, device drivers, executable libraries, and/orother code, such as one or more application programs 1045, which maycomprise computer programs provided by various embodiments, and/or maybe designed to implement methods, and/or configure systems, provided byother embodiments, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the method(s) discussed abovemight be implemented as code and/or instructions executable by acomputer (and/or a processor within a computer); in an aspect, then,such code and/or instructions can be used to configure and/or adapt ageneral purpose computer (or other device) to perform one or moreoperations in accordance with the described methods.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as thenon-transitory storage device(s) 1025 described above. In some cases,the storage medium might be incorporated within a computer system, suchas computer system 1000. In other embodiments, the storage medium mightbe separate from a computer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as acompact disc), and/or provided in an installation package, such that thestorage medium can be used to program, configure, and/or adapt a generalpurpose computer with the instructions/code stored thereon. Theseinstructions might take the form of executable code, which is executableby the computer system 1000 and/or might take the form of source and/orinstallable code, which, upon compilation and/or installation on thecomputer system 1000 (e.g., using any of a variety of generallyavailable compilers, installation programs, compression/decompressionutilities, etc.), then takes the form of executable code.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantialvariations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. Forexample, customized hardware might also be used, and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portablesoftware, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further, connection to othercomputing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.

As mentioned above, in one aspect, some embodiments may employ acomputer system (such as the computer system 1000) to perform methods inaccordance with various embodiments of the invention. According to a setof embodiments, some or all of the procedures of such methods areperformed by the computer system 1000 in response to processor 1010executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions (which mightbe incorporated into the operating system 1040 and/or other code, suchas an application program 1045) contained in the working memory 1035.Such instructions may be read into the working memory 1035 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as one or more of the non-transitorystorage device(s) 1025. Merely by way of example, execution of thesequences of instructions contained in the working memory 1035 mightcause the processor(s) 1010 to perform one or more procedures of themethods described herein.

The terms “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable medium,” asused herein, refer to any medium that participates in providing datathat causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. In an embodimentimplemented using the computer system 1000, various computer-readablemedia might be involved in providing instructions/code to processor(s)1010 for execution and/or might be used to store and/or carry suchinstructions/code. In many implementations, a computer-readable mediumis a physical and/or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may take theform of a non-volatile media or volatile media. Non-volatile mediainclude, for example, optical and/or magnetic disks, such as thenon-transitory storage device(s) 1025. Volatile media include, withoutlimitation, dynamic memory, such as the working memory 1035.

Common forms of physical and/or tangible computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other opticalmedium, any other physical medium with patterns of marks, a RAM, a PROM,EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any othermedium from which a computer can read instructions and/or code.

Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor(s) 1010for execution. Merely by way of example, the instructions may initiallybe carried on a magnetic disk and/or optical disc of a remote computer.A remote computer might load the instructions into its dynamic memoryand send the instructions as signals over a transmission medium to bereceived and/or executed by the computer system 1000.

The communications subsystem 1030 (and/or components thereof) generallywill receive signals, and the bus 1005 then might carry the signals(and/or the data, instructions, etc. carried by the signals) to theworking memory 1035, from which the processor(s) 1010 retrieves andexecutes the instructions. The instructions received by the workingmemory 1035 may optionally be stored on a non-transitory storage device1025 either before or after execution by the processor(s) 1010.

It should further be understood that the components of computer system1000 can be distributed across a network. For example, some processingmay be performed in one location using a first processor while otherprocessing may be performed by another processor remote from the firstprocessor. Other components of computer system 1000 may be similarlydistributed.

The methods, systems, and devices discussed above are examples. Variousconfigurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures orcomponents as appropriate. For instance, in alternative configurations,the methods may be performed in an order different from that described,and/or various stages may be added, omitted, and/or combined. Also,features described with respect to certain configurations may becombined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elementsof the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Also,technology evolves and, thus, many of the elements are examples and donot limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thoroughunderstanding of example configurations (including implementations).However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details.For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, andtechniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoidobscuring the configurations. This description provides exampleconfigurations only, and does not limit the scope, applicability, orconfigurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of theconfigurations will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing described techniques. Various changes maybe made in the function and arrangement of elements without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the disclosure.

Also, configurations may be described as a process which is depicted asa flow diagram or block diagram. Although each may describe theoperations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be rearranged. A process may have additional steps notincluded in the figure. Furthermore, examples of the methods may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode,hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the programcode or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in anon-transitory computer-readable medium such as a storage medium.Processors may perform the described tasks.

Having described several example configurations, various modifications,alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used without departingfrom the spirit of the disclosure. For example, the above elements maybe components of a larger system, wherein other rules may takeprecedence over or otherwise modify the application of the invention.Also, a number of steps may be undertaken before, during, or after theabove elements are considered. Accordingly, the above description doesnot bind the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A television receiver for generating inputresults, the television receiver comprising: one or more tunersconfigured to receive television programming via a television serviceprovider distribution network; a television interface configured tooutput the television programming to a display device; one or moreprocessors; and a memory communicatively coupled with and readable bythe one or more processors and having stored therein processor-readableinstructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to: receive, via the one or more tuners, fromthe television service provider distribution network, a set oftelevision data, wherein the set of television data is associated withprogramming of multiple television channels; receive a set of user data,wherein: the set of user data is indicative of user preferencesdetermined over a period of time based on user interactions with thetelevision receiver, the user preferences being at least partially basedon: a genre of television programming being output by the televisionreceiver for viewing at least a threshold amount of time; receive aninput from a user, wherein the input is a string of charactersrepresenting a partial search string; in response to receiving the inputfrom the user, determine a list of input results based on the set oftelevision data, the set of user data, and the partial search string,wherein: determining the list of inputs is performed in response toinput of a character of the string of characters, wherein each input ofthe list of inputs is intended to accurately represent an intent of theinput from the user; and the list of input results comprises a groupinput result, the group input result being a single result that isrepresentative of a television series that is associated with multipleepisodes; transmit the list of input results to the television interfacefor display; receive additional input from the user comprisingadditional characters added to the string of characters representing thepartial search string; determine that a predefined number of charactershas been reached in length by the partial search string having theadditional characters that partially spells out the group input result;and in response to determining that the predefined number of charactersof the group input result has been spelled out by the partial searchstring having the additional characters, transmit an indication of themultiple episodes corresponding to the group to the television interfacefor display.
 2. The television receiver of claim 1, wherein the set oftelevision data includes predetermined television programminginformation related to the multiple television channels.
 3. Thetelevision receiver of claim 1, wherein the set of television dataincludes data related to an environment of the television receiver. 4.The television receiver of claim 1, wherein the list of input resultsincludes a ranking of results, wherein the ranking of the results isdetermined based on the set of television data, the set of user data,and the input.
 5. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:receiving, via one or more tuners, from a television service providerdistribution network, a set of television data, wherein the set oftelevision data is associated with programming of multiple televisionchannels; receiving a set of user data, wherein: the set of user data isindicative of user preferences determined over a period of time based onuser interactions with a television receiver; receiving an input from auser, wherein the input is a string of characters representing a partialsearch string; in response to receiving the input from the user,determining a list of input results based on the set of television data,the set of user data, and the partial search string, wherein:determining the list of inputs is performed in response to input of acharacter of the string of characters, wherein each input of the list ofinputs is intended to accurately represent an intent of the input from auser; and the list of input results comprises a group input result, thegroup input result being a single result that is representative of atelevision series that is associated with multiple episodes;transmitting the list of input results to a display device; receivingadditional input from the user comprising additional characters added tothe string of characters representing the partial search string;determining that a predefined number of characters has been reached inlength by the partial search string having the additional charactersthat partially spells out the group input result; and in response todetermining that the predefined number of characters of the group inputresult has been spelled out by the partial search string having theadditional characters, transmitting an indication of the multipleepisodes corresponding to the group to the display device.
 6. The methodof claim 5, wherein the set of television data includes predeterminedtelevision programming information related to the multiple televisionchannels.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the set of television dataincludes data related to an environment of the television receiver. 8.The method of claim 5, wherein the list of input results includes aranking of results, wherein the ranking of the results is determinedbased on the set of television data, the set of user data, and theinput.
 9. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprisingprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause one or moreprocessors to: receive, via one or more tuners, from a televisionservice provider distribution network, a set of television data, whereinthe set of television data is associated with programming of multipletelevision channels; receive a set of user data, wherein: the set ofuser data is indicative of user preferences determined over a period oftime based on user interactions; receive an input from a user, whereinthe input is a string of characters representing a partial searchstring; in response to receiving the input from the user, determine alist of input results based on the set of television data, the set ofuser data, and the partial search string, wherein: determining the listof inputs is performed in response to input of a character of the stringof characters, wherein each input of the list of inputs is intended toaccurately represent an intent of the input from a user; and the list ofinput results comprises a group input result, the group input resultbeing a single result that is representative of a television series thathas multiple episodes; transmit the list of input results to a displaydevice; receive additional input from the user comprising additionalcharacters added to the string of characters representing the partialsearch string; determine that a predefined number of characters has beenreached in length by the partial search string having the additionalcharacters that partially spells out the group input; and in response todetermining that the predefined number of characters of the group inputresult has been spelled out by the partial search string having theadditional characters, transmit an indication of the multiple episodescorresponding to the group to the display device.
 10. The non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the set oftelevision data includes predetermined television programminginformation related to the multiple television channels.
 11. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein theset of television data includes data related to an environment of atelevision receiver that comprises the non-transitory machine-readablestorage medium.
 12. The non-transitory machine-readable storage mediumof claim 9, wherein the list of input results includes a ranking ofresults, wherein the ranking of the results is determined based on theset of television data, the set of user data, and the input.